The Basics Of Muscle Building

My Simple Steps To Get Huge And Shredded program really explains the basics of muscle building, step-by-step.

When designing this program, I tried to keep two principles at the forefront of my mind. These two principles were "simplicity" and "efficiency." One of the reasons why I feel many people stop making gains is that they think the longer they have been involved in fitness, the more advanced and difficult things need to become.

They get "lost in the shuffle" as to what works and what does not when it comes to muscle building. Something keeps them from reaching their fitness goals they have set for themselves, so they try something new, something different, shying away from the simpler things that actually worked. The cycle of confusion begins. Keep things simple and you will get a lot further.

Have you noticed the huge increase of muscle building, fitness and nutrition products to hit the shelves lately? Diet books, pills, powders, thigh masters, liquid drinks, bun and thigh rockers, ab-this and ab-that machines just to name a few. Every time you change the TV channel, there is an infomercial on some new weight-loss product or tummy-tuck contraption.

Why? Americans are fatter than ever. Why is it the amount of products to the amount of overweight/obese people is also increasing? We have to ask, is our approach working? Of course it isnít. There is one reason and only one reason these products are saturating the airwaves and TVs. Money.

That is it. These products are making companies (many of them bogus and illegitimate) millions if not billions of dollars a year.

How? By targeting peopleís emotions, telling them that if they bought their product, they will look like the girl in the ad or the guy in the commercial. The deception most of these companies use is downright fraud, but people continue to by into it. This brings me back to why I designed this program. Simplicity and efficiency. Remember these terms. They will be used often.

You do not need anything other than motivation, self-discipline, some free weights, and some direction as to what exercises to do and which ones not to do. You do not need the latest pill product, or fad diet to get you to where you want to be.

The more information thrown out there to the consumer, the more bull to wade through. Keep things simple and you will make life a whole lot easier. The foundation of this program will be built around very simple, proven techniques that will aid in fat-loss and lean muscle gain.

The basics of muscle building that are covered in this program include:

ē The desired rep range will gradually progress to four to six repetitions per set on most exercises.

ē The amount of heavy, intense sets per exercise will either be one set or two sets, depending on the order of the exercise.

There are more, but these are the primary basics of building muscle.

Our goal is to make things very simple, very efficient, and very effective. Most people tend to like simple routines. It cuts the confusion. And exercise doesnít have to be complex in order for it to work. Simple, basic ones like bench press and squats are completely more effective.

Letís cover why these muscle building principles are so important in this program. Please read the following basic guidelines more than once. Read them to understand why it is we are doing what we are doing. These principles should not change, regardless of how long you have been weight training or how long you plan on continuing weight training.

Once you know what actually causes a muscle to grow and get stronger, why would you want to train any other way?

The desired repetition range is four to six repetitions for heavy sets on most exercises.

In order to understand this program, you need to understand what causes a muscle to grow and become stronger. There is one and only one reason a muscle has for getting bigger and stronger.

Progressively increased overload.

I will repeat this statement again because it is by far one of the most important pieces of information in this entire program. The only reason a muscle will get bigger and become stronger is by increasing the amount of overload, or "work" on that muscle. A muscle responds to stress (weight training) by adapting and growing to handle the future stress that will be placed upon it.

Continue to train a muscle with the same weight and you will get the same results. You need to progressively "force" the muscle into growing stronger or it will not. So in order to increase overload, you need to increase resistance. In order to increase resistance, you need to increase the amount of weight, or work, you are doing.

Lower repetitions of an exercise will allow you to increase the overload to that muscle instantaneously. This forces the stimulation of new muscle fibers that will be recruited to handle the additional stresses that will be placed upon the muscle.

The repetition range for optimal muscle fiber stimulation will be between four and six repetitions for just about every exercise you do.

Now, contradictory to myths Iíve heard, this low repetition range will not increase the likelihood of injury. If anything, it will reduce the chance of injury because your muscles are becoming accustomed to handling additional forces not normally subjected upon them, therefore strengthening them.

Low reps will not cause you to "bulk" up unwontedly. Low reps will strengthen and "tone" your muscles quicker than higher reps. Lighter weights and higher reps will basically keep you from making optimal gains.

It is easier to train more intensely if you are focusing on only four to six repetitions instead of ten to fifteen. If you can do ten repetitions of an exercise, the weight is too light to achieve overload

If you are new to an exercise and are just learning how to do an exercise, ten repetitions are fine.

How do you know what weight to use? The first week or two of your routine will be more or less a trial and error period. You will quickly learn which weight you should be using. If you can do more than six repetitions on your heavy sets for an exercise, the weight is too light. If you cannot do at least four, the weight is too heavy. That is how you tell.

When you are doing more than six repetitions with ease, time to move the weight, or "work" up to the next level. Depending on which exercise you are dong, this could range from one pound on the arm curls to five pounds on the bench press. Here is where the progressive overload occurs. Remember, in order for a muscle to respond by growing, it needs to be forced.

Here is where efficiency also comes into play. Four to six reps, if performed with extreme intensity, will be more effective than ten reps of lighter weight and less intensity. That is efficiency.

The amount of heavy, intense sets per exercise will either be one set or two sets, depending on the order of the exercise.

The key is to shock the muscle into responding and growing. You do this with two, very intense sets of four to six repetitions. This will efficiently stimulate the muscles more than doing more sets with more reps at a lighter weight.

Your heavy, intense set is the set that you do at least four reps, but not more than six. Again, if you can do more than six reps, increase the weight. If you canít get a good four, lower the amount of weight. This is very important.

You want to "hit failure" between this range. If we were doing the flat bench press, we would do our warm-ups and then two heavy, intense sets of four to six repetitions. This exercise is now done. You have effectively overloaded the chest muscles and will then proceed to the next exercise.

These are the fundamental principles behind this program. Remember that simplicity and efficiency are keys to creating an effective and result-producing exercise program. Progressive overload is the only reason a muscle has to get bigger and stronger.

If it is not subjected to heavier weight, it has no reason to respond and adapt. Itís that simple. No one should be afraid of using heavier weights with lower reps. We have now learned the way to effectively increase lean muscle mass, which is a large part of the toning equation.

This was a Sample Chapter From...

---A Powerful program that reveals the basics of muscle building, showing you how to gain 15, even 20 pounds of rock-hard muscle mass in just 9 weeks.Click here for more information on "Simple Steps To Get Huge And Shredded"